The Limits of Heidegger's Philosophy and the Declaration of the Ethics of Wandering Existence

Within the balance of finitude and infinity, time and eternity

Balance

Problem Statement: Heidegger's Legacy and Its Limitations

Martin Heidegger defined human existence as "Existenz" in Being and Time, placing at the center of philosophy the proposition that humans are ‘finite beings’ moving toward death. His analysis profoundly influenced postwar European philosophy and holds significance for re-illuminating humans not as mere objects but as subjects who live.

However, his existential analysis has limitations. Heidegger locates the root of human existence in finitude and defines ‘being-towards-death (Sein-zum-Tode)’ as the most essential structure of existence. But if the origin of being lies solely in finitude, then human beings are inevitably confined to finitude from beginning to end. The problem begins here. Finitude cannot be explained by itself alone. For the very fact of finitude is simultaneously evidence of infinity.

The Tension Between Finitude and Infinity: The Balance of Being

The moment a human declares, “I am finite,” the truth that “infinity exists” is already presupposed within that statement. Recognizing finitude means intuitively grasping infinity on the opposite side. Finitude is not the absence of infinity; it is proof that infinity exists.

Philosophy must elucidate this tension. Yet Heidegger, while meticulous in analyzing the structure of finitude, did not sufficiently explore the underlying potential for infinity and eternity. This carries the risk of tilting human existence toward one side alone. It is akin to defining humanity solely as male or solely as female. Being is ever whole only in equilibrium. Just as man and woman achieve balance, being reveals its original structure only when finite and infinite, time and eternity, coexist.

Time and Eternity: The Definition of Opposites

Philosophy has endlessly debated time. Yet the question “What is the opposite of time?” has scarcely been posed. The ethics of being in motion provides a clear answer. The opposite of time is eternity.

This definition speaks not merely of opposing terms. Time and eternity are not complementary deficiencies, but two interdependent structures that reveal being. Time is the finite condition humans live within, while eternity is the inner truth of human existence that transcends that condition. Thus, humans are ‘those who live eternity within time,’ and within this tension and balance, being discovers its own ethics.

History and Tears: Beyond Deconstruction and Analysis

For a long time, philosophy was preoccupied with analyzing and deconstructing existence. Following Heidegger, thinkers like Derrida, Foucault, and Deleuze pushed this trend further, attempting to deconstruct human existence within structures, discourses, and power relations. However, this work alienated the living testimony of human existence.

Human history is not a record of political ideologies or economic struggles, but a record of suffering and tears. The silence of the massacred, the souls of the nameless abandoned in war, the tears of the oppressed and alienated—these must be philosophy's starting point. Yet many philosophers have reduced the weight of these tears to mere concepts, demoting them to the level of logic and discourse. This is the very act of killing human existence twice.

Declaration of Existential Ethics: The Philosophy of Eternity

Existential Ethics declares:

“The essence of human existence is not merely finite existence, but infinite dignity imbued with eternity.”

This declaration carries the following meanings:

1. Balance of Existence: Humanity is whole only within the balance of finite and infinite, time and eternity.

2. The Essence of Ethics: Only when humans live out this balance does the light of ethics truly shine. Ethics is not institutional norms, but the evidence of balance lived by existence.

3. The Renewal of Philosophy: Philosophy must begin anew not through deconstruction and analysis, but from the place that bears witness to the nobility of human existence.

4. The Value of Tears: The records of history and life are not abstract concepts, but confessions of blood and tears. Philosophy is born in the place that respects this confession.

The Path of Philosophy, The Path of Humanity

Heidegger deeply illuminated human existence within finitude, but today's philosophy, inheriting his legacy, must look beyond it. Human beings are not merely beings rushing toward death, but beings who testify beyond death toward eternity. Therefore, philosophy must now be reborn upon a new equilibrium. Only at the intersection of time and eternity, the tension between finitude and infinity, the balance of male and female, and the place where pain and tears bear witness, can philosophy properly reveal the essence of being.

The Ethics of Roaming Being speaks from this place.

“Being testifies to ethics within eternity, and philosophy must begin anew with this testimony through human tears and love.”

Soyo – The one who testifies to the confession of being and the philosophy of truth

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